In my previous life as a baby doctor, I spent decades caring for incredibly tiny premature babies, every one fragile and precious. This made me reflect constantly on the mystery of what it means to be human and how we begin our lives entirely dependent on others. It also convinced me that this is all part of God’s marvellous design, that we are intended by our loving Creator to be dependent, not independent. I recently elaborated on these ideas at an online event organised by the charity Faith in Later Life, part of the promotion for my new book The Final Lap.
What can we learn from how the early church lived out their faith during their own pandemics?